This film tells the story of 130 young men from Hawaii who, from the late 1930s through the early years of World War II, were part of a clandestine mission by the U.S. federal government to occupy desert islands in the middle of the Pacific. The first wave of these colonists was a group of Hawaiian high school students, chosen because government officials assumed Pacific Islanders could best survive the harsh conditions present on the tiny, isolated islands. For the young men, who were unaware of the true purpose of their role as colonists, what ensued is a tale of intrigue, courage, and ultimately, tragedy.

Other Candidates in the race for Maui Mayor and Kaua‘i Mayor

Seven citizens are running in the Primary Election for Mayor of Maui County. Three of them appeared in a live broadcast of Insights on PBS Hawai‘i on July 19. PBS Hawai‘i invited the four other candidates via email to share their views on issues facing Maui County in written form up to 750 words. The candidates are Beau Hawkes, Alec Hawley, Orion Kopelman and Laurent Zahnd. Only Kopelman and Zahnd responded by the July 6 deadline.

Seven citizens are running in the Primary Election for Mayor of Kaua‘i County. Four of them appeared in a live broadcast of Insights on PBS Hawai‘i on July 19. PBS Hawai‘i invited the three other candidates via email to share their views on issues facing Kaua‘i County in written form up to 750 words. The candidates are Ana Mo Des, Debra Kekaualua and Clint Yago. None responded by the July 6 deadline.

Orion Kopelman

At age 56 I have been a businessman for the last 30 years. I would like to see the county run more like a business. I was a Silicon Valley executive. As Vice President of Engineering I helped a company grow from 50 to 500 people in 6 years and learned how to make organizations work in efficient and effective ways.

I wrote a book in 1995 called “Projects at Warp-Speed: your guide to Quality Rapid Product Development.” I used it as a textbook and taught engineers and marketing people at the universities of Stanford and Berkeley continuing studies for 15 years.

I started a small management consulting firm in 1992 and was its president for a couple decades. It helped clients worldwide make more money by completing their projects and developing their products in half the time, at half the cost, with double the fun.

One of our clients was NASA’s vendors working on the space station. This 300-person team of mostly software engineers were way behind schedule on this 10-year project. We got them back on schedule and NASA successfully launched the space station on time.

As mayor I would ensure that our county government works efficiently and well. Thanks to my determination, I graduated from Stanford University with a bachelor’s degree in Computer and Electrical Engineering in only 3 years, in the top 10% of my class.

Ten years ago. I wrote my 4th book called “Creating Mauitopia: Making Maui a Real Paradise.” You can download an updated version for FREE from mauitopia.org.

I want to see the county move towards creating the Mauitopia vision. Part of this vision asks individuals to earn their living by doing what they love for work and thereby serving the community and the world. I would also encourage home-based businesses to facilitate raising children and improve our quality of life.

Another part of the Mauitopia vision is a “BHAG.” A Big Hairy Ass Goal. It suggests we put an end to crime, so we can all feel safe and allow our creativity to blossom.

We have to make smart decisions for the present and long term. We need to value every member of our society including the disabled and our hopefully gracefully aging senior citizens, who now live longer and can actively contribute to our society. We need to stop GMO or Genetically Modified Organism farming until we can practice it in a way that’s proven safe. And finally, we would promote a unique community that models the society of the future.

A couple years ago I wrote a mini-book called “Success Personal Decision Making.” Please make the right decision and vote for me for mayor.

I’ve been a member of the Rotary Club of Maui for over a decade. Previously I had been a highschool state tennis champion. These days I practice Feldenkrais daily, a type of yoga that emphasizes awareness through movement.

Having written a book with the subtitle “Your Guide to Success in the Consciousness Age,” I value my spirituality a lot.

Top Three Goals and Objectives
Ori Kopelman, Candidate for Mayor of Maui

Ensure most county work has deadlines and works with goals of quality, time, cost, and performance.

The founder of HewletPackard said, “what gets measured gets done.” All of the department heads in the county will be asked to set measurable objectives, including organizing as much work as possible in projects. We need to overcome the attitude of getting things done “wheneva.”

Outsource as much county work as possible to private firms, as I believe the profit incentive gets things done more efficiently and effectively.

Have all department heads evaluate what of their department’s work can be outsourced. Have them get 3 competive bids.

Put an end to crime so we can all feel safe and allow our creativity to blossom.

This seems like a BHAG, a Big Hairy Ass Goal, which has never been achieved in a community our size. The Aloha spirit and encouraging people to each do at least one random act of kindness (RAK) daily will make this happen.

Laurent Zahnd

I decided to run for Mayor after realizing that other candidates aren’t representing the people, nor making any real pledge to fix issues. The notion of public service got replaced by personal interest!

I’m aware that no one can get involved in Politics against the will of corporate interests, and that’s why my fellow Mayoral candidates only pretend to represent the people.

On another hand, the US just had to pull off the UN Human Rights because of its violations here in Hawai‘i. This isn’t Trump’s fault but ours as American occupiers of Hawai‘i, purposely ignoring the fact that we are occupying this Land illegally, and perpetuating a cultural Genocide on the Kanakas.

Up until now we were successful at silencing them, but the truth and the judgements are coming, and we will have to give back the stolen Land, and leave! Many of us will lose everything when that happens!

So I’m coming up with a solution to address this, before it’s too late, and restore our integrity as Americans.

My program is about restoring accountability and supporting the Hawaiians in the restoration of the Kingdom. Hawaiians won’t be revengeful and are ready to accept Americans who would like to stay.

Together, we have a Golden opportunity to transform the last State in the US; which otherwise will always be suffering the incapacity to compete with the Mainland.

Getting back to the neutral Kingdom will offer us the best geopolitical situation in today’s World; ideally situated between the US and Asia. This neutrality, comparable to the model of Switzerland, will offer us the opportunity to host a new location for UN negotiations between America and Asia, as well as the opportunity for duty-free trade and banking transactions.

This will literally bring TRILLIONS of dollars to Hawai‘i, enabling us to go from being the last State of the US, to being one of the first Nations in the World.

What is fantastic is that we don’t even need to exit the US, as we were never legally a part of it! The UN is very clear and qualifies our State as a fraudulent annexation.

The only interest of the US here is military, and there is a way to negotiate that. Switzerland for instance is neutral, but its army is still part of NATO, which makes it an ally of the US.

A newly formed Hawaiian National Guard could play the role of military and police to guarantee the Hawaiian independence. It could purchase its equipment from the US and lease a small portion of the Oahu base and a small district of Honolulu to the US so it could maintain the Pacific Command here for something like 20-30 years. But the condition for that lease would be to remove the troops and stop local military operations, while cleaning-up all the environmental impact generated, notably the leftover bombs and uranium traces.

As this transition would be a huge one, I’d propose to start first with a small scale experiment in Maui County, by creating a special status under the leadership of the UN. We could benefit from huge International and Federal funds to live a better life without all the pointless issues we suffer from today, and work together to rebuild the Hawaiian Kingdom institutions. We could then arbitrate the different land claims under International and Kingdom law and restore the forgotten Pono.

The Kingdom constitution will have to be revised and I would preach for a model of direct democracy (unlike the US), which would suppress most possibilities of corruption and guarantee a fair & equitable representation of all different Hawaiian factions that are now divided.

The opportunity for people to keep dual citizenship should be guaranteed, and as a small and suddenly rich Nation, it will be crucial to implement strict immigration policies.

I want us to be proud of ourselves and feel good about the Nation we are going to give to our Keiki.

It can be very simple to do what is right and repair the wrongdoings, and God did put everything in place for that miracle to happen today!

I wish we will transmute our shame and hurt and work together for our greater good. It’s important that everyone benefits from this transition, even the bad guys, because they won’t let go of their oppressive power otherwise.

Taiwan is an island country of 23 million people and the majority of them live in cities. When they seek to leave their hectic urban life, they escape to their country’s villages, mountains, forests and islands. Joseph visits the Penghu Archipelago in the Taiwan Straits, a chain of 64 isles and islets and explores the historic and natural attractions.

Founded in 1836 by King Kamehameha III, the Royal Hawaiian Band has
provided audiences the world over with a continual connection to Hawai‘i’s
royal heritage. During this vintage concert set on the grounds of historic
Iolani Palace, Bandmaster Aaron Mahi pays tribute to one of his predecessors,
Henry Berger, Royal Hawaiian Bandmaster from 1871 to 1915 and sometimes called
the “Father of Hawaiian music.”

The first of Election 2018 weekly candidate forums features the leading candidates in the Democratic Primary for Governor. Incumbent David Ige faces a challenge from his former senate colleague, Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa. Ige is trying for a second term while Hanabusa is trying to do what Ige did four years: defeat an incumbent Democrat in the primary election.

NĀ MELE presents a traditional Hawaiian jam session featuring slack key masters Cyril Pahinui, Led Kaapana and the late Dennis Kamakahi. The program includes sentimental classics with each artist taking a turn on lead vocals and guitar.

INSIGHTS ON PBS HAWAI‘I presents a series exploring the quality of life on each island, with residents from each island driving the conversations. What issues matter most to each island? These episodes are a precursor to our upcoming Election 2018 coverage. Our Quality of Life series continues with a focus on the community issues that are of most concern for Lāna‘i residents.

Join us during our live discussion by phoning in, or leaving us a comment on Facebook or Twitter. INSIGHTS is also live streamed on pbshawaii.org and Facebook Live.

Phone Lines:
462-5000 on Oahu or 800-238-4847 on the Neighbor Islands.

Three magical talents, Mahi Beamer, Nina Kealiiwahamana and Robert Cazimero, blend their voices together to create an intimacy that only comes with the melding of family and good friends in this encore presentation of a vintage NA MELE episode from the PBS Hawai‘i studios.